Back in 2016 I stood and interviewed Nathan Jones in the reception of Northampton Town’s Sixfields Stadium after he’d just watched his Hatters get outgunned 2-0 by the recently crowned League Two champions.
He spoke then about the lessons Luton needed to learn from Chris Wilder’s winners, which would ultimately take Town to promotion and beyond. And, on Sunday in Stamford Bridge, the comparisons seemed strangely relevant after the FA Cup exit at the hands of Chelsea.
Jones and the 2020 board have made no secret of the long-term goal of getting Luton into a Premier League that the club helped create, but never played in after their 1992 relegation in the final season of the old First Division.
Two years later would be the final time for 27 years that Town would take on Chelsea, losing in the FA Cup semi-final. The three decades between the meeting on Sunday have seen wildly different fortunes for the two clubs.
Seven FA Cups, five Premier League crowns a Champions League, a Europa League title and an endless stream of world-class talent, all funded by billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, have made the Blues one of England’s elite clubs.
We all know about the fall, rise, fall and rise again of Luton in that time where, instead of being an oligarch’s plaything, it was administrations and almost oblivion.
So, you might have been forgiven for thinking the Londoners had lost 3-1 after they sacked boss and club legend Frank Lampard yesterday, less than 24 hours after he stood victorious in the opposing dugout to Jones.
The Welshman was naturally disappointed with the cup exit, but proud of his players’ and with a blueprint for the future, just in the way he had been that day at Sixfields five years ago.
“At that time, it was the next goal to put a team out there and, without being disrespectful, we probably had a team that was more fluent than that Northampton team,” Jones reflected.
“Chris did fantastically well, had a great team and showed what it took to get out of that league. We did that and with a wonderful way of playing, so we used that. It was just the work-rate, the organisation and the desire to do well, and that’s what helped us.
“Then we knew we had a team that could get out of League Two because we knew that was in place.
“Now we’re at Championship level. To get a side that competes regularly, we knew what we had to do and we’ve done that.
“If we want to get to the next level, we won’t be competing with Chelsea for a number of years. Realistically, they must have £500million in that squad. We’re not going to get that for a little while, regardless of what happens with the (Power Court) stadium and so on.
“But for us to get through this level that we’re in, then this day will stand us in good stead of what we need to do in terms of the athleticism, the way they move the ball and all these things for us to do, because we want to get better.
“We want to get better at our level and to start causing teams problems at our level, and if we do that and we take the positives from this and the learning curves from this, then we’ll be a better side, we really will. And we’ll gain even more points than what we have now.”
His men have put 33 points on the board and, sitting comfortably in 13th place, Town turn their attentions solely back to their league commitments on Saturday at Blackburn.
They remain closer to the play-offs (11 points) than they do relegation zone (13 points), which they only escaped on the final day of last term with a victory over Rovers.
Though they’ve beaten league leaders Norwich twice in the league and cup this term, Luton are 20 points off the pace of the table-toppers, which would suggest that the Premier League might still be a fairly distant dream.
Asked how possible it is to close that gap in the seasons to come, in order to reach the promised land, Jones said: “It’s bridgeable to a certain extent, but let’s not get carried away. These (Chelsea) have been a Premier League side. They’ve won the Premier League twice in the last ten years, I think. That’s a top, top, top, top level of player.
“We stabilised last year, now we want to push boundaries at this level and finish as high as we can, then we’ll regroup and build again.
“We’re at that stage, but these are all learning curves for us. This is not a realistic goal for us, in the short term, because Chelsea have a multi-billionaire that finances stuff. They have a level of player in the building that we won’t be able to attract for a while.
“Ultimately, this (playing Premier League teams) is our end goal but, right now, it’s a learning curve for us. It’s a great learning curve and will stand us in good stead.
“We have to take heart from it. We’ve had possibly the toughest run a Championship could have, away to Bournemouth, Brentford and Chelsea.
“We beat Bournemouth, should’ve got something out of the game against Brentford, if not a win then minimum a draw. Then, to come to Chelsea, compete, not look overawed, to look confident at times, move the ball the way we did and create three or four chances against a decent Champions League side, shows we’re in a decent place.
“I’m very pleased with that and now it’s all about league action.”
